The mayor said she received numerous calls from parents panicked about having to care for the animals and the potential for contracting diseases. Many of them didn't want to just let the rabbits go in the wash, she said.Why in the fark would you let your child play a game that give out animals in the first place

dukeblue219:BarkingUnicorn: I recall returning from the Ringling Bros. circus in Chicago with an anole tethered to my shirt by a thread leash and safety pin. I've blocked my memory of what happened to it.

You got anole at the circus? Gross.

Maybe that's what happened to the lizard and why I've blocked the memory.

I have to agree here. The animals are not well cared for before they're given out. The fish, for instance, are feeder goldfish bought at someplace like Wal-Mart and kept in a bucket. Even if the parents are cool with whatever Junior just brought home, the odds are that it isn't very healthy and isn't going to live long, which isn't a very good introduction to pet ownership for the kid, and gives the parents more stress than they really need to deal with. There is just nothing good that comes of this. Not for the mistreated and dead animals, not for the disappointed kids, and especially not for the parents who have to cope with all of this.

When alerted by residents that live animals were being given as prizes, the mayor said she was "shocked and appalled" that any organization in today's society would do this and called the practice "cruel and inhumane."

I'm good with this ban also. However, the mayor? She's an attention whore.

"There is just nothing good that comes of this. Not for the mistreated and dead animals, not for the disappointed kids, and especially not for the parents who have to cope with all of this."better to give timmy a pat on the head and tell him another trophy for nintendology and assure him that any failures he might experience are not his fault caused by something that can be cured by branded medication.

ffs people. we're talking about getting a turtle as a prize. you get a turtle, maybe you buy a box. you give it some leaves. probably it dies. you learn a little, you live a little. you experience life. if you're worrying about the supposed mistreatment of goldfish, then i better not see you eating a single chicken, cow, or pig based product made in america, ever you effing hypocrite pansies.

"Sharon Morgan, former mayor and president of the Fountain Hills Sister Cities, said approving Zamosc as a sister city will allow students to visit the sister cities in Belgium, Germany and Poland all in one trip. "

From the same article.

How does that work exactly? Couldn't they go to Zamosc before it became a friendship city? Is that some kind of weird American superstition I haven't heard of?

"Uh no, don't go in to that city. It's not one of our official friendship cities".

Also, the way it's described it comes across like students can now visit their friendship cities in Belgium, Poland and Germany in a one day trip. That sounds more like a challenge for Top Gear in a resonably priced car, than an vacation.

Bomb Head Mohammed:ffs people. we're talking about getting a turtle as a prize. you get a turtle, maybe you buy a box. you give it some leaves. probably it dies. you learn a little, you live a little. you experience life. if you're worrying about the supposed mistreatment of goldfish, then i better not see you eating a single chicken, cow, or pig based product made in america, ever you effing hypocrite pansies.

I'm with you. If you don't want your kid to win an animal, don't let them play the game. They will anyway, when you let them off-leash, and if they're lucky dumb enough to win one they get to learn about consequences. These aren't lovable animals little Jeffy Dahmer can torture and mistreat- these are small lizards, hermit crabs, goldfish. They have a shorter lifespan than a half-opened bag of Doritos. If you think these things need protecting, you shouldn't go to carnivals- you should chain yourself to a tree to protest deforestation and remove yourself from society. There are much worse things ahead for children than winning a goldfish and finding it belly-up the next morning.

Johnstarr:There are much worse things ahead for children than winning a goldfish and finding it belly-up the next morning.

Not for the goldfish, though.

Dunno why I'm feeding the trolls, but "There's something worse, so such-and-such is okay" would, taken to the (il?)logical extreme, mean that since cutting someone's head off is worse than cutting their hand off, we should be totally cool with cutting people's hands off. I don't live in that country.

soakitincider:fountain hills has a pretty cool disc golf course and a massive fountain.

Correction: An exceptionally shiatty disc golf course and a sewage fountain...Really.That, plus the entire town is basically a gated community. The place is like hell on earth./Not a huge fan, if you can't tell.

Worldwalker:Johnstarr: There are much worse things ahead for children than winning a goldfish and finding it belly-up the next morning.

Not for the goldfish, though.

Dunno why I'm feeding the trolls, but "There's something worse, so such-and-such is okay" would, taken to the (il?)logical extreme, mean that since cutting someone's head off is worse than cutting their hand off, we should be totally cool with cutting people's hands off. I don't live in that country.

I don't live in "slippery slope theory for everything" country. A dead goldfish/pet being worse than the death of a friend/loved one is not the same as your example. The two examples are not apples to apples, and the same philosophy cannot be applied. You did take it to an illogical extreme, whereas I took it to a logical extreme: that one life event can be used to learn something about the human experience. Not that forcing something on someone is better for them in the long run.

But go ahead and take my words, manipulate them, insert your own, and come to your own conclusions. This Fark, and there are much worse places out there.

Correction: An exceptionally shiatty disc golf course and a sewage fountain...Really.That, plus the entire town is basically a gated community. The place is like hell on earth./Not a huge fan, if you can't tell.

Also, considering the place is overrun with retirees (mostly from the Midwest), I don't understand how this even became a priority for the city council.

...yea, I do understand, actually - the "town" is terribly run and full of nosy, obnoxious people.

Correction: An exceptionally shiatty disc golf course and a sewage fountain...Really.That, plus the entire town is basically a gated community. The place is like hell on earth./Not a huge fan, if you can't tell.

I haven't been there in a long time, so it could be poop compared to it's former self.

Just days after our 4 year-old betta died, my daughter brought home two goldfish from the carnival in town.

My first job out of college was as a research assistant for a prof who used goldfish in his research. Steve and Sanjay are very well cared for and will live long and happy lives, but I doubt their bretheren who went home with other kids will be so lucky. I hope this becomes a nation-wide policy.

drjekel_mrhyde:The mayor said she received numerous calls from parents panicked about having to care for the animals and the potential for contracting diseases. Many of them didn't want to just let the rabbits go in the wash, she said.Why in the fark would you let your child play a game that give out animals in the first place

More importantly, - Why the fark aren't you there supervising your kid as he or she wins the prizes?

BarkingUnicorn:Darkrover2: I'm just interested to hear whatever happened to subby that makes him react to this story as 'Spiffy'.

What poor living prize hurt your psyche so much?

Either you don't understand the headline or "spiffy" doesn't mean what you think it means.

I understand both, still wondering why subby hates small animals and other living creatures...From what I've seen, having a child is the beginning of a cavalcade of unexpected living things, unless a couple is very into planning.